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Fighting Corruption of the Historical Record: Nazi-Looted Art Litigation

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Fighting Corruption of the Historical Record: Nazi-Looted Art Litigation Fighting Corruption of the Historical Record: Nazi-Looted Art Litigation Jennifer Anglim Kreder* For the first time in history, restitution may be expected to continuefor as long as works of art known to have been plundered during a war continue to be rediscovered. -Ardelia R. Hall' I. INTRODUCTION Over the years, with a few praiseworthy exceptions, U.S. courts have dismissed many claims to recover Nazi-looted art on technical grounds, causing distortion of the historical record.2 This trend seems to reflect bias against these historical claims arising from a lack of historical knowledge. Tales of venerated institutions, such as the Museum of Modem Art (MoMA), acquiring what they knew or should have known was trafficked and laundered art may seem outrageous to those unaware of the infection of the market with art that had been stolen or extorted from Jews between 1933 and 1945. Even when judges recognize the plausibility of such claims,s attending to them requires judicial fortitude and dedication to sorting . Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Law, Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University; J.D., Georgetown University Law Center. The views expressed in this Article are those of the author only and are not necessarily those of the Kansas Law Review, Inc., its editors, or staff. 1. Ardelia R. Hall, The Recovery of Cultural Objects Dispersed During World War [1, 25 DEP'T ST. BULL. 337, 339 (1951). 2. See infra Appendix A, Federal Holocaust-Era Art Claims Since 2004 (Oct. 26, 2012) [hereinafter App. A]. 3. See infra Part II (detailing how judicial decision-making is prone to bias against Holocaust- era claims). 4. Rachel Dubin, Museums and Self-Regulation: Accessing the Impact of Neily Promulgated Guidelines on the Litigation of Cultural Property, 18 U. MIAMI Bus. L. REv. 101, 101 (2010) ("As ethical guardians of the arts, museums are among the most trusted secular institutions in the United States."). 5. See Bakalar v. Vavra, 619 F.3d 136, 146-47 (2d Cir. 2010) (recognizing that there may be sufficient evidence to support a claim that a drawing was stolen by the Third Reich). 75 76 KANSAS LAW REVIEW [Vol. 61 through emotionally difficult and complex factual evidence spanning 6 many years. Regardless of this difficulty and complexity, it is imperative that our courts cease the recent trend of dismissing Holocaust- era art cases on impermissible predicates.7 In such cases, courts often fail to recognize the need for the assistance of historians to appreciate how seemingly voluntary transactions were in fact the consequences of forced sales-usually with proceeds having been paid into blocked accounts-or sales made under duress to secure flight from the Third Reich.8 This Article does not call for judges to ignore technical defenses, such as statutes of limitation, which would require judges to act in contravention of currently applicable law.9 Instead, this Article seeks to shed light on which claims and affirmative defenses are actually plausible when the true history of Holocaust-era spoliation and contemporaneous and post-war trafficking is taken into account. Part II details how judicial decision-making, especially under current plausibility pleading standards, is prone to bias against Holocaust-era art claims. Part III lays out essential historical facts that are necessary to determine whether a given claim to Holocaust-era art is plausible. Part IV analyzes the rash of federal court dismissals, and demonstrates how courts could have avoided improper dismissals via judicial notice of obvious historical facts and testimony from historians to understand allegations requiring more thorough explanation. Part V concludes that federal judges should pay keen attention to history to guard against bias creeping into their opinions, which constitute public historical records about the Holocaust. 6. See, e.g., Ralph E. Lerner, The Nazi Art Theft Problem and the Role of the Museum: A Proposed Solution to Disputes over Title, 31 N.Y.U. J. INT'L L. & POL. 15, 36 (1998) ("[A] matter involving a claim for an artwork stolen during World War II will take between seven and twelve years to resolve."); Press Release, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, United States Announces $19 Million Settlement in Case of Painting Stolen by Nazi (July 20, 2010), available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/Julyl0/portraitofwallysettlementpr.pdf (providing that, as recently as 2010, the case that launched the modem era of Nazi-looted art restitution was settled after twelve years). 7. See infra Part IV. 8. See infra Parts III, IV. 9. The author is of the opinion, in light of museums and collectors filing unfair declaratory judgment actions, the law should be changed, but this issue is beyond the scope of this Article. 2012] FIGHTING CORRUPTION OF THE HISTORICAL RECORD 77 II. JUDICIAL DECISION-MAKING, BIAS, AND PLAUSIBILITY PLEADING What judges think of their function and task undoubtedly informs their understanding of their power of jurisdiction. Although judges should remain objective, judges are human and their experiences necessarily influence their opinions about whether certain claims are viable.'o Additionally, if a judge views the factual allegations of a complaint as implausible at first blush, then the judge may be predisposed to grant a motion to dismiss the case on technical grounds before the expensive, time-consuming discovery phase gains much traction." As one study posited: "[O]ne would predict that an individual judge will be more likely to dispose of a case on procedural or technical grounds where he lacks particularly strong views or unique expertise in the substantive area of law at issue."' 2 One key procedural ground, of course, is a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in conjunction with an axiomatic common law rule in the federal system that requires a federal judge ruling upon a motion to dismiss to accept all 10. One article explains this point particularly well: Our study demonstrates that judges rely on the same cognitive decision-making process as laypersons and other experts, which leaves them vulnerable to cognitive illusions that can produce poor judgments. Even if judges have no bias or prejudice against either litigant, fully understand the relevant law, and know all of the relevant facts, they might still make systematically erroneous decisions under some circumstances simply because of how they-like all human beings-think. Chris Guthrie, et al., Inside the Judicial Mind, 86 CORNELL L. REv. 777, 829 (2001); accord LAWRENCE S. WRIGHTSMAN, PSYCHOLOGY AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM 378 (2d ed. 1991) (relaying shocking admissions by two judges about prejudices influencing their adjudications); Evan R. Seamone, Judicial Mindfulness, 70 U. CIN. L. REv. 1023, 1036-46 (2002) (discussing the influences of judges' past experiences upon their decision-making). 11. See Guthrie, et al., supra note 10, at 783 ("[J]udges make decisions under uncertain, time- pressured conditions that encourage reliance on cognitive shortcuts that sometimes cause illusions of judgment."); see also LAWRENCE S. WRIGHTSMAN, JUDICIAL DECISION MAKING: IS PSYCHOLOGY RELEVANT? 12 (1999) ("Each justice is only human, and being human means sometimes making decisions that are self-serving or in other ways biased."). 12. Jonathan R. Macey, Judicial Preferences, Public Choices, and the Rules of Procedure, 23 J. LEGAL STUD. 627, 632 (1994); see also RICHARD POSNER, OVERCOMING LAW 110 (1995) (positing that most judges are "ordinary judges" although "[s]ome judges have had political agendas"). But see Janet Cooper Alexander, Judges' Self-Interest and ProceduralRules: Comment on Macey, 23 J. LEGAL STUD. 647, 648 (1993) (critiquing Macey's analytical framework and positing that many judges seek to build their reputations); Mark Tushnet, Policy Distortion and Democratic Debilitation:Comparative Illumination of the CountermajoritarianDifficulty, 94 MICH. L. REV. 245, 260 (1995) (noting that "we have no good explanations of how the incentives judges face affect the norms they articulate"). 78 KANSAS LAW REVIEW [Vol. 61 of a complaint's allegations as true. 13 However, recent Supreme Court decisions have caused some to question whether the axiom still rings true. 14 As recently stated by two scholars evaluating Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly15 and Ashcroft v. Iqball6: [T]he Supreme Court's purpose in developing a more careful judicial review of pleadings was clear: More thorough review is necessary to protect against frivolous and purely speculative lawsuits. Such cases take a considerable toll on the judicial system, wasting scarce judicial resources, delaying justice for meritorious cases, and burdening defendants with "sprawling, costly, and hugely time-consuming" discovery. In today's post-Twombly--Iqbal climate, the standard by which federal courts determine whether a claim is viable appears to be higher than ever.' 8 The Supreme Court in Twombly and Iqbal "has ushered in the era of so-called 'plausibility pleading,' which . has resulted in significant confusion as lower courts attempt to decipher its meaning and impact."' 9 According to the Court, "[d]etermining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief will . be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and 13. See Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322 (2007) (holding that when faced with a motion to dismiss, courts must accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true); accord Leatherman v. Tarrant Cnty. Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 164 (1993) (same). 14. See, e.g., Patricia W. Hatamyar, The Tao of Pleading: Do Twombly and Iqbal Matter Empirically?, 59 AM. U. L. REV. 553 passim (2010) (investigating the impact of recent Supreme Court pleading cases). 15. 550 U.S. 544 (2007). 16. 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009).
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